Big 9th From Fireflies Drives Comeback Over Greenville

Columbia Fireflies @ Greenville Drive

April 23, 2016

Tyler Badamo @ Anderson Espinoza

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Columbia	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	5		7	10	1
Greenville	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0		3	7	0

W: Davis (1-0, 2.19 ERA); L: McEachern (1-1, 5.11 ERA)

MiLB.com Boxscore

Fist bumps all around after a strong effort from Tyler Badamo

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Tyler Badamo (5.09 ERA) – 6.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 5 K, 90 Pitches (58 Strikes), 9 GO: 4 FO

Seth Davis – 2.1 IP, BB, 2 K, 2 GO, 3 Pop outs, 2 IR – 0 S

Anderson Espinoza (2.45 ERA) – 3.1 IP, 3 H, R, 3 BB, 4 K, 74 Pitches (43 Strikes), 3 GO: 3 FO

Batters

2B – Vinny Siena – 2-4, R, 2 RBI (8), SF, SB (1)

1B – Dash Winningham – 2-4

PR/RF – Tucker Tharp – 1-1, R, RBI (2), SB (1)

RF/1B – Jeffrey Diehl – 1-2, 2 R, HR (2), 3 RBI (7), 3 BB, K

LF – Vicente Lupo – 1-3, 2B (2), RBI (2), BB, K

SS – Milton Ramos – 1-3, R, HBP

CF – Ivan Wilson – 2-4, 2 R, 2B (7)

3B – Michael Chavis – 1-2, R, 2B (4), RBI (14)

1B – Josh Ockimey – 1-3, BB

CF – Luis Alexander Basabe – 1-3, 2B (2), RBI (9), BB, K

Recapish

            The Columbia Fireflies battled back to clinch the series win against Greenville Saturday, scoring 5 runs in the 9^th to surge ahead.

Cola starter Tyler Badamo struggled with command in the 1^st inning, and the Drive touched him up for a pair of runs on two doubles and two walks. Badamo would settle in after that, allowing only one run over his final 5.2 IP Saturday night, and facing just one over the minimum until Greenville rallied for their third run in the 6^th. Per John Calvagno – he writes a great blog called Notes From The Sally that you should open in a new tab for when you’re done here ;) – Badamo was 87-90 MPH with his fastball, and mixed in a low-80’s slurve and changeup. He called it a slurve because it looks like curve (see below), but is thrown at slider speed (81-83, which is curve territory for some hard throwers).

Sand Gnats Complete Comeback But Then Lose Anyway

Savannah Sand Gnats @ Greenville Drive

September 6, 2015

Casey Delgado @ Dedgar Jimenez

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Savannah	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0		4	7	2
Greenville	3	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	X		5	12	0

W: Callahan (7-6, 4.53 ERA); L: Delgado (8-4, 3.17 ERA)

MiLB.com Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Casey Delgado – 6 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 4 SO, HR, 92 Pitches (62 Strikes), 6 GO: 2 FO

Christian Montgomery (8.04 ERA) – 1 IP, H, SO, 1 GO: 1 FO

Paul Paez (1.36 ERA) – 1 IP, 2 H, 1 GO

Dedgar Jimenez (4.43 ERA) – 4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, BB, 92 Pitches (62 Strikes), 6 GO: 2 FO

Jamie Callahan (W, 7-6, 4.53 ERA) – 4.1 IP, H, BB, 8 SO, 2 GO: 3 FO, 2 IR – 0 S

Batters

Jonathan Johnson – 1-4, 2 RBI (35)

Michael Katz – 1-4, SO

John Mora – 1-3, R, BB, SO

Jean Rodriguez – 1-4, R, 2 SO

Vicente Lupo – 2-4, R, RBI (39), 2 SO

Joe Tuschak – 1-3, R, 2B (6), RBI (11), SO

Yoan Moncada – 2-4, SB (49), 2 SO, PO

Michael Chavis – 1-4, R, HR (16), RBI (58), 2 SO

Rafael Devers – 2-4, R

Andrew Benintendi – 3-4, 3 R, 2 2B (5)

Danny Mars – 3-4, 2B (6), 3 RBI (15), CS

Javier Guerra – 1-3, 2B (23), RBI (68)

Recap

            Sand Gnats starter Casey Delgado ran into a very hot and talented Greenville Drive lineup Sunday evening, and he couldn’t contain them enough for Savannah’s offense to pull ahead. The Drive would pounce on Delgado for three runs in the 1^st inning thanks to a homerun and 3 singles, but then Delgado settled down and pitched much better the rest of the way. Unfortunately, Dedgar Jimenez was very sharp for Greenville over the first 4.1 innings, and Jamie Callahan was very sharp for Greenville over the last 4.1 innings. It was after that first out in the 5^th inning that Savannah’s offense came to life for four runs on 5 hits to tie the game. But Greenville would connect for two doubles to jump back in front in the 6^th inning, and neither side threatened much after that.

            Check out the scoring details and game highlights (offense from both sides) below. This series and the SAL season wraps up Monday, with Chris Flexen (4-0, 1.45 ERA) scheduled to pitch for Savannah opposite Jalen Beeks (9-6, 4.35 ERA) at 2:05 PM.

Scoring Highlights

Knapp Drives Savannah Against Greenville

Savannah Sand Gnats @ Greenville Drive

September 5, 2015

Game One

Ricky Knapp @ Anderson Espinoza

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7		R	H	E
Savannah	0	1	1	1	1	0	0		4	9	1
Greenville	0	0	0	2	0	1	0		3	7	2

W: Knapp (8-3, 2.60 ERA); L: Espinoza (0-1, 8.10 ERA); Save: Baldonado (1.91 ERA)

MiLB.com Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Ricky Knapp – 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 5 SO, 94 Pitches (66 Strikes), 7 GO: 2 FO

Alberto Baldonado – 1.1 IP, H, 2 SO, 2 GO, 1 IR – 0 S

Anderson Espinoza – 3.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 68 Pitches (43 Strikes), 5 GO: 2 FO

Jake Drehoff (2.89 ERA) – 3.2 IP, 5 H, R, 3 SO, 59 Pitches (43 Strikes), 4 GO: 2 FO, 2 IR – 0 S

Batters

Luis Guillorme – 3-4, R, 2 2B (16)

Wuilmer Becerra – 1-4, RBI (63), SO, CS

Eudor Garcia – 1-4, R, SB (5), 3 SO

Jean Rodriguez – 1-3, R

Tomas Nido – 2-3, RBI (40), SO

Patrick Biondi – 1-2, R, BB, 2 SB (38), SO

Michael Chavis – 1-3, R, 2B (29), SO

Rafael Devers – 2-3, 2 R, 2B (36), RBI (68)

Andrew Benintendi – 1-3, RBI (15), 2 SO, CS

Nick Longhi – 1-3, 2B (27), RBI (62)

Javier Guerra – 1-3

Danny Mars – 1-3, SO

Recap

            Savannah welcomed their league MVP back to his customary spot in the lineup during game one Saturday afternoon against Greenville, and his bat picked up right where he left off before busting a finger on 8/26. Guillorme had 3 hits in this game, including a pair of doubles, as part of a 5-hit combined effort in this double-header (plus he drew two walks in game two). Sand Gnats starter Ricky Knapp was strong early, and battled through some Greenville threats late to keep Savannah on top. Alberto Baldonado took over for Knapp after he allowed the tying run to reach 2B, and Baldonado closed out the game by retiring 4 of the 5 batters he’d face.

The Drive started 17-year old Anderson Espinoza for the first time, and he was very impressive. He was on a pitch limit, and he ended up charged with all 3 Savannah runs, but considering his age relative to the league, he was brilliant. Espinoza mostly threw his fastball, which ranged from 93-97 MPH per the Greenville announcer, but he also mixed in a few really nice looking curveballs, and a few really nice looking changeups (see below for some examples). He seems like a future top prospect candidate, and you can read more about him from Baseball America here.

These two would play one more Saturday night, with Savannah looking to sweep a double-header, and the Drive looking to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Scoring Highlights